An Aura of Destiny
by elenathehun
Summary: Anakin is dead. Jolee Bindo is bored. Things get ugly real fast.


**So, I finished KotOR. The first one, I mean. I liked all the characters, but the two characters you _cannot_ touch are HK-47 and Jolee Bindo. I _love_ those two. I'd like to think that there is a cranky old man and murderous, child-like droid in all of us...**

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Anakin Solo had decided that being dead wasn't so bad. Yeah, it was pretty boring, and yeah, there was nothing to do or see, but it was all worth it for a little rest…

"Hey! Kid!"

Anakin woke up and looked around the dull grayness around him.

"No, not that way. Over here!"

Anakin's gaze finally settled on a small dot to the left of him. If he squinted, he could just make out a figure…

And suddenly, he was there. "Did I know I could do that?"

The man who'd been yelling for him shook his head. "Kids these days…"

Anakin frowned. "Um, hi. My name is Anakin Solo. Are you dead?"

The man rolled his eyes and sighed. "_Of course_ I'm dead, you nitwit. If you ever see someone who looks alive in this place, they're most certainly dead."

Anakin frowned puzzledly "That didn't make any sense…"

"Don't strain your brain too hard thinking about it," the man said acerbically. "Nothing really makes sense here, so just accept it."

Anakin thought about that for a moment, then just shrugged. "Well, since we're here, what's your name?"

"I thought you'd never ask! My name is Jolee Bindo. And you already told me you're Anakin Solo…" Jolee looked him up and down, as Anakin did the same. Jolee was a tough old man, that was for sure. Wrinkled brown skin, sharp brown eyes, and a neatly trimmed grey goatee; for some reason, Anakin was reminded of a cross between Lando Calrissian and Talon Karrde. Jolee seemed to come to some sort of conclusion about him as well.

"Say, you wouldn't be related to an Anakin Skywalker, would you?"

Startled, Anakin looked at Jolee. "Yeah. He's my grandfather. You know him?"

Jolee just look aggravated. "Yeah, I know him. Complete wash-up. All he does is mope around and wail about how he messed up. His buddies aren't much better. I tell ya, Jedi these days aren't what they used to be…"

Anakin just looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Jolee shook his head. "All they do is whine on about some prophecy. They can't even make up their minds about who the subject is! First your grandfather, then your uncle, now you… I guess they'll have to pick one of your siblings now that you're dead."

Anakin frowned. "What's this prophecy say?"

Jolee waves his hand dismissively. "Oh, all manner of crap about some Jedi bringing balance to the Force. Sounds like somebody was nipping at the bottle when they dreamed up this prophecy…"

Anakin shrugs. "Sounds like a job for my brother, if you ask me."

Jolee glared. "I didn't ask you, actually. But as far as I can tell, your brother is an utter pinhead who hides behind pseudo-philosophy in order to get out of making decisions."

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Anakin asked, hiding a grin behind a hand. "And if not my brother, then my sister?"

Jolee squints off into the distance, and a haze covers his eyes. "Hmmm… oh my, _that's_ not good." He focuses his eyes back on Anakin. "Judging from the way your sister is mind-raping everyone around her, I don't think she's suitable either. Too bad, they'll stick to your brother then."

"That can't be right – my sister wouldn't do something like that! Out of all of us, she's the one who did the best in training-"

Jolee snorted. "No offense, kid, but the training you go through is something _five-year-olds_ used to do. You people are no more Jedi than those 'vong are."

Anakin drew himself up. "I'll have you know that my uncle studied extensively-"

"Yeah, whatever kid. That doesn't matter. Most of the older folk regard you whippersnappers as particularly powerful half-trained Force-users. You really aren't Jedi. That may be a good thing, come to think of it…"

"Excuse me?"

"On the other hand," Jolee said, blatantly ignoring Anakin, "That may be a bad thing as well. You seemed to have confused destiny and the future, for one thing, and-"

"What do you mean," broke in Anakin, red-faced, "by 'confused destiny and the future'?"

Jolee looked at him, surprised. "You seem to think that destiny means your future is set. If you fall, you were meant to fall, and if you stayed, you were meant to stay. It doesn't mean that at all."

Anakin scowled. "It doesn't, huh?"

"Nope. All it means is that you have the potential to do great things. Whether they are good or evil, or even if you do it at all is up the person. There's no such thing a set person, and even after you fall, you can come back the light, whatever that is…"

Anakin stared at him. "So in other words, every Jedi in the galaxy right now has the wrong idea."

"Pretty much," said Jolee, shrugging.

"Know how I can contact my family?" asked Anakin.

"Yes."

A long pause.

"Are you going to itell/i me?"

"No."

And even longer pause.

"Why not!"

"Figure it out for yourself. I can't give you _all_ the answers - that would be cheating."

And suddenly, Anakin is alone once again.

"Stupid Jedi…"


End file.
